Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Filehaus
Recent
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

The Future of Patreon Poll (Patreon)

Published:
2023-06-06 08:45:42
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Hello fellow Patreons,

Because my channel has changed a lot from when I first set up Patreon I have been thinking about changing my Patreon perks for a while now- I want to offer something different/better than what I currently do. The changes below are what I am contemplating but are completely preliminary at the moment, I will take on board all your comments before deciding anything:

Changes:

Weekly bonus videos where you decide the game/series via a poll. With my main channel I get stuck not being able to do longer series, or not playing games I want to because a video on them has done poorly. I have seen other YouTubers offer this and it seems to be great for both the creator and the viewers. Once the current game/series has ended we'll do a poll, where all Patreons can vote on which game will be next and the higher tiers will get to nominate games for the vote. 25 is the poll size limit so the more nominations the better, higher tiers will have their nominations guaranteed to be included in the polls

No more Patreon funded videos that go public (so no more names listed at the start of those videos)

No more $1 tier, as I am offering more for each patreon, this tier will be removed

No more merch perk, instead all Patreons will have access to the secret section of my store where the current merch designs will be available for purchase. This means I can add more designs as and when, and you guys can get only the designs you actually want.

Naming NPCs after Patreons in main videos will still be a thing as and when required

Discord roles as before


To summarize the new tiers:

$5 - access to new weekly bonus videos, ability to vote for next game/series and access to secret section of shop

$10 - as above (but my editors get paid more)

$25 - as above, plus nomination for upcoming new bonus videos

$69 - as above, plus nominations guaranteed to be included in poll


Excited to hear your thoughts whether they are good or bad!

Comments

ScientistNate

I like, except I think occasionally making a Patreon funded video public is a good idea. Those videos were a big reason why I became a Patreon, because I wanted to see my name in that list.

Joseph Lawhorne

I support you on a higher tier than the $1, but I support other YouTubers at their $1 tier, because I only have so much money to give, but want to support. I don't care about any of the perks and just want to help keep the content coming. Removing the $1 tier may cause people at that tier to stop supporting. Just leave the $1 tier as it is with no added benefits. The point of the support tiers is to have better rewards the higher it goes.

PWL

I'd like a second (or third I guess) channel for the patreon-only series. Keep the series in a playlist and make it public X time after the end, that way non-patreon viewers still get to see what they miss. Also make sure to get your own decisions on series whether they work or not, the important is having fun, we don't want to force you !

Labradog

If you're happy with the way things are now, then I'm happy with that. I think it would be great if Patreon support was enough to allow you to make videos of games you like playing rather than what the YouTube algorithm prefers but I don't see why you shouldn't post them to YouTube anyway if you think they have a general appeal. I support you on Patreon because I want to help support you, not because I want to be in an exclusive club. :)

Labradog

I would also point out that showing the names of all of your Patreon members at the start of a video takes very little time (the way you present it) and the visual size of that list could itself be an impressive draw for acquiring more Patreon members. I've got nothing to back up that claim other than my own impressions of YouTubers I watch for the first time. :)

Real Civil Engineer
>>110126584

Due to limitations with Patreon the list has to be created manually by myself which takes a long time to create/check and as I have found recently, there are human errors which lead to names being missed. I don't know how much of a draw the list is for current supporters, but for a more efficient workflow I would rather remove them.

Real Civil Engineer
>>110122437

The main problem is after a year (after you have received 4 designs) there are no more shirts sent out. I don't have the ability to edit the designs or to add new ones, plus Patreon take a huge 3% extra cut of my overall Patreon revenue just to allow me to offer them to people!

Labradog
>>110126584

Ohhhh. I always thought it was a sort of a script-y thing that generated that section. TIL... :P

Real Civil Engineer
>>110122950

Yes this is true, but I think making Patreon the place for additional content from me keeps things simple. Telling people "there's bonus videos on my patreon, but only for specific tiers of support" makes it a whole lot more complicated and less desirable than offering the same perk for everyone. I think losing the lower tier, whilst will probably hurt financially initially, will make the concept of why Patreon exists easier to understand for everyone. Plus if people want to just support me with no return, my merch store offers a donation button :) Open to your thoughts on this!

Real Civil Engineer
>>110126182

A lot of YouTube is selling a video in a thumbnail, it's a lot of work and stress coming up with good concepts and often results in the video not being made/released. This way potentially means more videos on games I want to play (and you guys want to see) as I don't need to care what the thumbnail will look like. The main idea was a home for longer games series though, as series are the hardest thing to pull off on YouTube for the thumbnail reason above

Girafficus the Wise
>>110122437

Ah OK. I understand now. That's really dumb that you can't make changes to what's offered. So maybe then continue with a discount on regular merch for patreon members, or maybe once a year a discount code for 15 percent off, and rhen also have exclusive merch for patreon supporters

Girafficus the Wise
>>110126584

I like seeing my name at the beginning, makes me feel important haha. That's one part of the reason I became a member. And to see Girraficus The Wise make a character appearance I'm a video someday LOL

Labradog
>>110126182

I don't know anything about streaming but I get your point and it does seem liberating from the algorithm. Although there is the option of granting Schmichael twenty extra minutes of sunlight time for making the thumbnails for you. :D

Labradog
>>110122950

I think the general public understands that a $1 tier isn't meant to provide much in the way of perks and therefore join that tier just for support but I dunno. I'm talking out of my arse when it comes to the bidness of streaming. :P

Labradog
>>110124603

Actually, that kinda seems like a decent idea. A third channel that won't impact your main channel. You could just list the names of the Patreons in the channel's "About" section. Then the rest of the world could see the Patreon-specific videos after we've had our way with them and you don't need to worry about thumbnails or view numbers, etc.

Labradog

Question: if my tier guarantees my game nominations are in the poll, what happens if it's not a game you enjoy playing? Isn't that kind of the point? How would I know? Would I instead select a nomination from a big list o' games? (OK, that's four questions...)

Lord TyBreaker

I think the $1 tier is good for people who want to show their support, but maybe don't have a lot of money to spare. As for the benefits question, it could maybe just be access to Discord and nothing else. I'm not sure how many $1 Patrons you have that would justify this, but I think it's a very inviting tier for newcomers.

Joseph Lawhorne
>>110126182

As a YouTube consumer, Patreon lists don't do anything for me. If anything, if I see a large list, I might be less inclined to become a Patreon.

jahr

I like seeing my name in the list. It sounds like you need a better method of generating the list, like via API to eliminate human error. Something like this https://docs.patreon.com/#fetch-a-creator-profile-and-campaign-info

Ted

Fan of the polling aspect, but I am in favor of making them available to the general channel after a period of time. Good advert for joining the Patreon and I'm always in favor of sharing.

Montana Williams

I'm on board with the changes, but I'd rather the Patreon videos be public. I'm sure there are thousands of folks out there who would enjoy longer series (like Infra... I've been hoping for a replacement for that series!) and I personally don't care about the exclusivity aspect of it. Though I could see where it would entice folks to support you if it were exclusive only. Maybe when you start a new series, make like one video on the main channel to promote the new series? I also hope the exclusive series would be on Youtube and not like hosted on Patreon. It's just easier to consume that way. And as for the names, I do enjoy seeing my name on the Patreon videos. I would be glad to help with the splash page if you'd like. I do a lot of motion graphics work that requires pulling hundreds of names from a script into a scrolling graphic... I've become pretty proficient at it.

benrr101

Not a fan of removing the $1 tier... To be (probably harshly) honest, a few extra videos for $5+/mo just isn't worth it to me. There's already more content than I can consume from RCE on youtube for free, so I'd be unlikely to go out of my way to load up exclusive patreon stuff. Really, I'm just chipping in a buck or two to show my appreciation.

Real Civil Engineer
>>110147774

First episode on YouTube will depend on whether it is youtube friendly but that would be my intention where possible! I'll reconsider the list as people seem to want it. Thanks for the input

Yzekial

Things as they are, are pretty great. Though i'd be lying if i said i wasnt curious about some other long form content like INFRA. To me the exclusive videos don't feel right, excluding cases where a video might adversely affect the channel, it might be worth considering just early access to content. It would make for a good reward for a 1$ supporter, allowing those with less means to support you further.

Nicholas Aaron Young

I recommend keeping the $1 around even if it has no perks. Lots of people just like supporting people who make them happy and throwing a few bucks around is not uncommon. For me I support you at the $5 because even though it might not have been super popular I really enjoyed the Infra content and stayed for the Timerborners. It makes me happy knowing I support someone who is willing to stick something they start out for the people who are enjoying it.

Tim Heegeman

I love the idea of the patterns being able to pick game series! The things that managed to bum me out was that some series just seemed to end after a few videos (lawn mowing simulator). Or like in the Timberborn series where you’d switch to a new season just when it felt like you were hitting your stride, to me at least. Logistically, I don’t know if this would work since you record videos well in advance, but it would be great to somehow allow Patreon members to vote to continue a series or file you have in Timberborners or something like that. All of that said, I don’t want it to feel like you have to play a game that you don’t want to play anymore just because everyone else wants you to. All good things must come to an end eventually.

Ravenclaw67Impala

So I paid for a year in May at the engineer tier. The sole reason I joined was to become a character in a video and to see my name in the list of Patreon funded videos. I love your content and series (infraspace, planet crafter, and timberborners are by far the best) but I guess my question is if the price of that tier is changing, what does that mean for the year subscription financially?

Real Civil Engineer
>>110859487

Prices are not changing, just the perks offered. So it won't affect anything unless you are unhappy with the changes, then I refund manually I think. Patreons will still appear in videos as characters when and where I can do that, so it'll just be the list that won't happen- hopefully weekly videos will make up for that!

Ravenclaw67Impala
>>110859487

I see, it must the exchange rate then. In Australia, I paid like $18 per month for the year or something like that and saw the tier had dropped to $10 and was confused. But pounds to $AUD makes more sense as to why that is. Thanks for the clarification!

PawelTheBlack

I'll list my comments in points as my engineering soul hates free text 😉 1) I would suggest to keep $1 with no benefits just for those who want to thank you, there might be a donate option in merch store, but I guess it's kinda easier to do it via Patreon 2) I'm really missing some way of curating the content of the poll by you Matt as I'd hate to vote on anything not knowing if that'd be a game you yourself enjoy playing. Your genuineness is the biggest selling point for me 3) I think Patreon videos shouldn't be exclusive forever, they should go public at some point to show others what they are missing 4) I also like to see my name on the list at the start 😁 however I'm still waiting for my beaver to be born 😉 5) And finally - trust your own instinct as so far it haven't failed you, ever since I started watching your content there wasn't a single video I haven't enjoyed. Keep it up and big thanks! Cheers

DamEngineer

I don’t understand difference between $5 and $10. Move everything down one level.

Real Civil Engineer

These were/are old ideas to get feedback from existing supporters. The new perks are as shown on my patreon page. $5 is access to videos, $10 is voting rights. Cheers!

Nadine

I am a $1 patron because I don't have much to spare but want to support you and be part of the community. I am glad you kept it! I don't need bonus videos, though. I mean, I like more content, but from the monetary aspect, I think it would be fair to give access to bonus content only for $5 and more.